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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22459063">three equal halves</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>BAMF Haruno Sakura, F/M, Haruno Sakura &amp; Yamanaka Ino Friendship, Mito Uzumaki - Freeform, Strong Female Characters, Strong Haruno Sakura, another fix-it fic for sakura lmaooo</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 05:55:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,292</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22459063</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Ino,” Sakura said, voice an urgent whisper. “Please, let's just put it back on the self and enjoy the rest of the night.”</p><p>“Oh<i> no.</i> We will not do shit till you tell me what in blazes is Uzumaki Mito’s forbidden jutsu notes doing in your book rack.”</p><p> </p><p>  <b>or, we all know that "three equal halves" is a logically inaccurate occourence</b></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>124</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>three equal halves</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>dedicated to all nights because you vanity see straight and your head burns and you feel like fainting but you keep going on, messing up tenses and format because damnit, its fun</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>(-1)</p><p> </p><p>Her skin burns. Like the bite of acid, it burns, corroding her stratified squamous epithelial. </p><p>Her entire body <em> burns </em>.</p><p>Like eternal black flames. Set alight, set on fire, something only a cursed pair of eyes could conjure, set on a target that was destined to burn out and wilt till it was reduced to ashes.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(0) </p><p> </p><p>“This is no joke, Sakura.” Tsunade says, amber eyes warm and cold at the same time. </p><p>“I know, Lady Tsunade.” </p><p>“You might be petrified.”</p><p>“I know, Lady Tsunade.” </p><p>“It’ll take years to perfect—I couldn't do it.”</p><p>“I know, Lady Tsunade.” </p><p>“On top of that, half your chakra is currently stowed away for the Hundred Healings.”</p><p>“I know, Lady Tsunade.” </p><p>“And you might—” </p><p>“I <em> know </em>,” she says this time, with a little more force. “Lady Tsunade.” </p><p>The woman crosses her arms across her bust.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(3)</p><p> </p><p>“This is tricky,” Shizune says, her coffee eyes stuck to the tattered scroll spread before her. </p><p>“Sure it is; the Jinjuriki of the Nine Tails made this shit.” Sakura said, looking at an identical parchment with a furrowed brow. </p><p>“Shit is a good way to put it,” Tsunade murmured, taking a swig of strong <em> sake </em> as she frowned over the third paper.</p><p>Sakura read the notes—faded Japanese print written with a handwriting that was prim and steady. The ink had faded and the paper was yellow and curling, and when Sakura tried to unfurl more—even while keeping her touch feather-light—the pages tore and crinkled under the pads of her fingers. </p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(12)</p><p> </p><p>The night was spent in a blur of nail polish and chick flicks, Twizzlers and Ressees, Fruit by the Foot and Lindt. Gossip whispered behind newly manicured nails and inside jokes cackled with sly jabs to the hip. </p><p>But the calm of losing herself in the happiness of her friend’s chatter all came to a sudden halt.</p><p>“What is this?” Ino asked Sakura, holding three scrolls gingerly, as if they were explosives.</p><p>Sakura lurched for the notes, green eyes suddenly desperate and hollow. Ino kept it out of her reach. </p><p>“<em> Sakura, </em> ” Ino repeated, tone severe and eyes in a mixture of curiosity, horror and shock, emotions bleeding together and giving birth to panic. “ <em> What </em> — <em> is </em> — <em> this? </em>”</p><p>“M-Medical notes.” </p><p>“You've never been able to lie to me.” </p><p>“Ino,” Sakura said, voice an urgent whisper. “Please, let's just put it back on the self and enjoy the rest of the night.”</p><p>“Ooh, and then why don't we all wave a white flag to the Orochimaru and ask them to join a party where we discuss the fate of the world over a calm cuppa tea.”</p><p>Sakura pursed her lips. “Ino—”</p><p>“Oh <em> no </em> . We will not do <em> shit </em>till you tell me what in blazes is Uzumaki Mito’s forbidden jutsu notes doing in your book rack.”</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(23) </p><p> </p><p>Three kinds of chakra to be put in place. Mind, spirit, and nature. </p><p>Focus was key. She thought of the reason my she was putting up with the bullshit. The answer came easily.</p><p>A pair of emotionless, detached eyes; unruly, dark locks; moonlight skin and stagnant lips.</p><p>Sasuke Uchiha. </p><p>Her friend. Naruto’s brother. Kakashi’s son.</p><p>The need to be on the level of her boys. Maybe even ahead of them. Not walking behind them. Not beside them. But in front of them. </p><p>And when she looks back up at Tsunade and Shizune—the winds of the Slug Valley displacing her hair—her eyelids were turquoise green, and a pair of slug antennae stood atop her head.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(34)</p><p> </p><p>Shallow pants fill her ears. Sweat glistening skin under her fingers. The smell of musk in her nose. Heat in the air. The adrenaline pumping through her veins. </p><p>And the taste of Inuzuka Kiba on her lips. </p><p>His black leather jacket was long since discarded, and she had torn the net undershirt he wore, in a haze. His hands worked on her blouse, opening it, and Sakura deepened their kiss, anticipation exiting her, face tingling, a fire in her stomach burning. </p><p>When his hand slid under her bindings, the world turned pale, and she mewled, head burying deep into his chest.</p><p>“HOLY FUCKADOOZLES!” Kiba sprung away from her grasp, staring at the girl before him with a face of shock and horror. </p><p>Sakura blinked. The mood died, and she looked mildly annoyed. “Whazza matter?”</p><p>“You—your head. Your eyes. Your nose. You!”</p><p>Sakura’s eyes flew wide. She strut a hand sign and uttered a “Kai!” to dispel the jutsu.</p><p>“What in holy shit’s name was that?!” Kiba demanded, eyes comically big as saucers.</p><p><em> Well, just your average Forbidden Sage Jutsu that the first Hokage’s wife only managed to theorize and died while trying to use it in battle </em>, Sakura thought. “A-a new jutsu,” Sakura said, mind whirring for an excuse. “I transform into Lady Katsuyu—like, only a little bit—and it helps me heal.”</p><p>Kiba pulled on his leather. “It’s a neat trick, it’s  just—you caught me off guard, is all.” </p><p>“I can tell,” she returned, zipping up her clothes. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t—this had never happened before—I mean—I was caught off guard, too, and you kind of… I dunno, exited the kunoichi in me?”</p><p>Kiba nodded. “I get that. Like, once, at the ending of <em> The Walking Dead </em>, I did a fang-over-fang on my laptop.”</p><p>Sakura grinned. “Well, you brought my inner slug.”</p><p>A pause, where they gazed out the balcony of Sakura’s flat, watching the sunset. The sky was the color of rust, hues of pink and sprays of yellow and sheens of blue. </p><p>“So,” Kiba said, thoughtfully, breaking the silence, “if I make you come, you turn into a chimpanzee?”</p><p>“As if you could make me come, bastard.”</p><p>Kiba and Sakura locked eyes for a brief moment, before the burst out laughing for a full minute.</p><p>The two of them classified as the friends who would make out if they were bored and in the mood. They found each other attractive, but they were nothing more than friends. </p><p>“Still, Sakura. What if you become a slug when you're fooling around. Imagine, like, one moment you’re under me—”</p><p>“Why would <em> I </em> be under <em> you </em>, sub?”</p><p>“—and the next moment you’re a wriggling, slimy slug—”</p><p>“Stop.”</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>(35)</p><p> </p><p>Jiraiya is dead.</p><p>Her mind flies to Naruto and Tsunade, two of the most dear people to her.</p><p>Tsunade, Sakura knows, only cries alone, silently. </p><p>Like the war tattered shinobi she has been battered and molded into. </p><p>For Naruto, she… She doesn't know what to say to him. She’s not lost her mentor; she can't relate to him… she might say the wrong things. </p><p>So she talks to Shikamaru, and for once,  the genius doesn't complain.</p><p>“I’ll do it,” he says, the moment she knocks on the Nara Manor. He probably anticipated this move of hers.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(42)</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Tsunade was healing the whole village. When Sakura healed Naruto and Sai, she collapsed from exertion. Tsunade—Tsunade was healing <em> thousands </em> of people, all at once. </p><p>The village is crumbled—crumbled to <em> nothingness </em>—by the simple wave of the man who wielded twin lilac eyes, emblazoned with concentric circles. </p><p>A flick of his wrist, and Konoha crumbled, sparing the Hokage faces. Only so they could watch their world being beaten, useless and unable to help.</p><p>But Sakura? Sakura would not, <em> could not </em> let her home be destroyed without putting up a fight. </p><p>Six Paths of Pain. One, Konohamaru had taken down with a rasengan. She imagined Naruto swelling with pride at the sight of the young Sarutobi—but she couldn’t think of Naruto. Not now. Else, her resolve would crumble and she’d curl up into a ball. </p><p>She approached the main path of Pain—the man with small chakra rods perforating his nose. </p><p>She closed her eyes, looking down at the floor. </p><p>“Who are you?” The man challenged, divine eyes unreadable.</p><p>She doesn’t answer, head hung low.</p><p>“It doesn’t matter,” the man steels. “You shall know Pain, despite your name or identity.”</p><p>Sakura felt it burbling deep within her—the third type of chakra. </p><p>She focused on Naruto—the boy she loved, deeply and thoroughly, unconditionally and completely. <em> Where are you, Naruto? </em></p><p>“Face God, coward.” The man ordered.</p><p>“Who the hell are you calling a coward?” Sakura demanded, balling a fist. She pulled her head toward him, jutting out her chin, and meeting his eyes squarely, rolling her shoulders and parting her legs into a battle stance. The familiar sliding noise of her nin sandals on soil graced her ears.</p><p>She must've looked odd, honestly. She hadn’t mastered the senjutsu; she wasn’t a true sage. Her head had two antennae, and her eyelids turned green. Heck, her nose became weird and small.</p><p>But appearance was a small price to pay for the power it gave her. </p><p>The man tilted his face, meeting her eyes with what she thought was curiosity. </p><p>Before she could pull her first punch, a loud bang sounded, and a <em> Poof! </em> as if something had been summoned.</p><p>Sakura whirred. </p><p>And there stood Naruto, in all his orange glory, sporting a new cloak. He stood atop Gamabutta, his frog, and his eyelids were orange and yellow.</p><p>Jealousy surged through Sakura. <em> Only eyeshadow? Seriously? How come he’s a perfect sage! </em></p><p>But that feeling was muffled by her joy of seeing her friend, her brother.</p><p>“Naruto!” She gasped. </p><p>For a moment, Naruto looked stunned. “Sakura-chan? What’s wrong with your fa—”</p><p>“We’ll do the introductions later. Till then,” she eyes the man before her. “Let’s put the immortality of this <em> God </em> to the test.”</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(47)</p><p> </p><p>They fought side by side, and it was great. </p><p>She bashed the man with monstrous punches, using her Senjutsu to enhance her powers. Naruto was able to mold rasen-shuriken with little to no worries. </p><p>The battle was bizarre. Naruto turned one of the paths of pain to stone, and the idea was so cool, she wanted to use it, too, but since that was the only path of Pain who could absorb chakra, that trick was a one-time-thing.</p><p>Instead, she used a chakra scalpel to immobilize one of the men. </p><p>And since her chakra had boosted so much, she felt the rush of excitement—maybe—maybe she could—</p><p><em> Shink. </em> A chakra rod flew towards Sakura and before she could dodge, it impaled her through the stomach, pinning her to the ground. Her hands flew to her torso, in an attempt to heal, but twin rods pinned her hands, too.</p><p>She caught her breath.</p><p>She had been impaled before, she could heal it. But she couldn't use her hands. Not even to summon Katsuyu. </p><p>
  <em> Is it possible to heal without hands? </em>
</p><p>The answer came easily. </p><p>Mitotic Regeneration.<em> Souzu Saise. </em> The Hundred Healings Seal.</p><p>But—but could she unlock it <em> now </em>? Let loose all the chakra she had harnessed for two years at this moment? </p><p>The idea exited her, but before she could do anything—</p><p>Naruto yelped in pain, groaning gutturally, the sound curdling her blood in shock. Sakura tore her head up to look at him.</p><p>Just as she was, he lay on the floor, hands pinned down, the sight of blood sender her head spinning. Don't get her wrong—she was a doctor in training. She’d seen corpses and gore and even dissected a human being. But the sight of Naruto—it ignited nausea in her belly.</p><p>If there were anything she could do to unleash the strength of a Hundred, she would need to keep Pain from killing her, first. A distraction. Naruto and she were pinned down. There was no way—</p><p>With all the grace in the world, the Hyuuga Heiress materialized before the wide eyes of Naruto Uzumaki.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(51)</p><p> </p><p>When Hinata crashed to the ground, two things happened at once. </p><p>A diamond took form on her forehead, ribbons elongating and snaking across her body, and she pulled her hands free, ripping out the rod embedded in her abdomen.</p><p>When she pulled to her feet, the once gaping wounds in her belly and hands puckered and closed, till it was a small white scared and then eventually disappeared.</p><p>The second thing that happened, was Naruto Uzumaki going ballistic.</p><p>His body shivered, shuddered, quaked and convulsed, rage imminent and displayed to the world, clear as day, just as all his other emotions were. </p><p>And his world turned to a searing, burning, simmering mass of red, red fire.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(56)</p><p> </p><p>He’s still shaking with anger, blonde brows furrowed with the heat of his emotions. Even though he stands in the face of all his problems, he doesn’t dare lash out. In the face of the red head, wiry, bone-thin man.</p><p>The purple-haired woman steps out front, demanding they stay away. </p><p>“You got this,” Sakura whispers in Naruto’s ear. “I’ll get Konan.”</p><p>She presses a kiss to his cheekbones, sisterly and platonic. </p><p>Then she lunges, tackling the woman and using a flash-step to teleport them away.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(58)</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t wish to fight you,” the lone female Akatsuki member says, poised for battle.</p><p>“Buckle up, ’cause I do.” Sakura taunts, mirroring her stance.</p><p>Konan doesn’t pull the first move, so Sakura does. </p><p>Roaring her trademark battle cry, she socks the woman with all that she has in her.</p><p>The woman bears the impact before her entire body disperses into sheets of paper.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(60)</p><p> </p><p>Konan hands over an origami bouquet. </p><p>Her golden eyes are unreadable as always, but Sakura senses sorrow.</p><p>“For Jiraiya,” she says, placing the roses in Naruto’s hands.</p><p>To Sakura, she says, “You endured longer against me than many would.”</p><p>Sakura doesn't know what to say, and it doesn't matter, because the woman disappears, leaving fluttering sheets of paper in her wake.</p><p>One of them is in the shape of a flower, and Sakura leans down to pick it up.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(62)</p><p> </p><p>Tsunade is in a comma. </p><p>Shimura Danzo is Hokage.</p><p>The village is being rebuilt, but to Sakura, she thinks it's being destroyed more, day by day.</p><p>Naruto talks to her about Jiraiya, and she sleeps over at his house. The place smells comfortingly of cup ramen, and they lay on his twin bed, a tangle of limbs.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(63)</p><p> </p><p>Sakura is sent on her first seduction mission. She fails, partly. The man drugged her, and she was raped. </p><p>She killed him, afterwords, her insides throbbing, tear filled cheeks and blood stained sheets.</p><p>She doesn't wash the man’s blood off her hands. She lets it stay, drying up under her fingernails and dampening the holds of her palms.</p><p>She salvages and savours the feel of the blood on her hands.</p><p>And she feels the surge of giddy happiness—caused by revenge. She’s drunk on it for a few minutes, continuing to stab the dead body of the man before her, and even dissects it the was Tsunade taught her. </p><p>She snaps of the heart, the vena cava loosely hanging on the four-chambered slop of gore in her hands.</p><p>She squeezes it, blood oozing out an into her hands, and she relishes it.</p><p>Until a thought strikes her mind—is this—is <em> this </em>—what Sasuke wants?</p><p>Immediately he drops the heart, and it falls to her feet. She’s scared—<em> afraid </em>—of who she has become.</p><p>She cries, tears spilling out her eyes, onto her lap. <em> Is this what Sasuke will become? </em></p><p>She doesn't tell Naruto what had happened on the mission.</p><p>Kakashi knows, however. </p><p>Anbu were privy to the information of missions, and her Sensei liked to read the mission reports of his students.</p><p>Kakashi doesn't say a word, but when he looks at her, there's something in his one visible eye.</p><p>Sakura knocks his door, at the dead of midnight, and thankfully, Kakashi was awake, reading some erotica. </p><p>Her cheeks are wet, eyes are wild. </p><p>She hugs him, and for that moment, all she can see is the brown of his jounin flak jacket and the spandex of his mask-vest. </p><p>Kakashi puts one arm around her, the other on her head—<em> When had she grown this tall? </em>—consoling her.</p><p>He makes her cup of hot chocolate, and she tells him what happened. </p><p>The report only told him that she had been raped.</p><p>But not what she did to the man’s body after that. Nor how she felt.</p><p>“Two hundred and seventeen stabs,” she said, head low and voice husk. “And sixty two cuts. Then—then I plucked out his—I took his—”</p><p>Kakashi takes back the cup of cocoa and instead replaces it with Sake.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(64)</p><p> </p><p>Sasuke has killed Itachi. The news shocks her more than when he she found out that he killed Orochimaru.</p><p>Because if he killed Itachi—if he really did, then—then he should be home now, half dead but still alive.</p><p>“But now he wants to take Konoha down,” Tsunade finishes.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(65)</p><p> </p><p>“Why? Why is he not back?” She demands of Naruto. “You know why, don't you? Fucking tell me, Naruto! I have a right to know.”</p><p>The boy lay still in the mess of his room, as if he couldn't hear her.</p><p>“Naruto…<em> please </em>.”</p><p>The boy straightened, blue eyes now dull and rid of his mirth.</p><p>The next few words break and mend her heart at the same time.</p><p>“Because Itachi killed his family for Konoha.”</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(67)</p><p> </p><p>The world is gearing up for war.</p><p>Everyone is assigned into tents, but no one adheres to that half-assed rule. They would probably die in the next few days, so they all confessed and had their hearts broken or mended.</p><p>Slept with their crushes or partners.</p><p>Ino calls Sai over to their tent, so Sakura left to go to Sai’s tent in his place.</p><p>Naruto had gone off on that wretched ship, the diversion from the war, to train with Killer Bee, so Sai’s roommate was Kakashi.</p><p>Kakashi and she get drunk again.</p><p>The hangover is worth it. You can't feel wretched if you already are from the start, ne, Kaka-Sensei?</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(70)</p><p> </p><p>Sakura loves the look of unaltered shock on Sasuke’s face when the Mitotic Regeneration winds around her body and she unleashes her Senjutsu.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(72)</p><p> </p><p>Sakura’s sage mode fades, and Hundred Healings recedes, conciousness faltering, just as all hope is snuffed out. Obito cries out in pain before her, clutching at his eyes.</p><p>Sakura falls backward, exhaustion overcoming her, and expects to fall to the floor, but instead—</p><p>Instead, she falls to a warm, hard chest, and a warm hand grips her shoulder. </p><p>And it's like falling in love all over again.</p><p>She looks at him, and the pair of mismatched eyes are all she can see. </p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(77)</p><p> </p><p>The press of her knuckles into Kaguya’s crown, the push of Naruto’s Palm into her side and Sasuke’s mirrored on the other.</p><p>“I love you guys,” Kakashi whispers, and the picture clicks into place, as if the world was finally back on track.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(79)</p><p> </p><p>She thought he cared about her.</p><p>She believed in him, and then—again—he broke her trust. A never ending cycle of betrayal and heartbreak. Breaking the chain was but a distant dream.</p><p>Just like she held the heart of that man who raped her, Sasuke held Sakura’s. And he could do whatever the hell he wanted to.</p><p>He meets her eyes, and she succumbs to a genjutsu.</p><p>Bolts of bright blue lightning cracking in his palm.</p><p>His ethereal eyes whirring on overdrive. </p><p>The chirp of a thousand birds.</p><p>Him bolting towards her, chidori plunging through her chest. </p><p>The electricity shakes her teeth, her skin sears as it is forced to conduct it. The pain overwhelms her system, and despite all the training—despite all the pain she went through—she falls to his hands.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(80) </p><p> </p><p>But since Sakura is frozen in his genjutsu, she utilizes her stagnancy to her advantage, calling on nature energy. </p><p><em> Only when you stay still, </em> Tsunade had said on her training sessions, <em> will you be one with nature. Then, you call on its chakra and enhance your powers. </em></p><p>The spike in her chakra flares at the genjutsu and the illusion cracks.</p><p>Rage bubbles within her, and she senses the other two boy’s chakra—thrumming, blinking, at the Valley of the End.</p><p>She flash steps away before Kakashi can stop her.</p><p> </p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p>.</p><p> </p><p>(82) </p><p> </p><p>They’re both bruised and battered, pulling punches that are weak and futile. Just lugging fists with the power of a paper cut, head butting and dragging themselves to a stand, still stubbornly fighting on.</p><p>They look like a pair of genin, squabbling over the last onigiri.</p><p>With a retrospective smile, she realizes that, Yes, they still are genin.</p><p>The thought lingers for but a moment, and then she charges in, punching at the ground and cracking the earth into splinters. </p><p>The cracks spiderweb across the vast terrain, and the already ruined valley takes on another toll of landform destruction.</p><p>She cracks her knuckles, flexes her neck. <em> This is just the beginning. </em></p><p>“Sakura-chan,” Naruto says, looking at her with blue hopeful eyes. Those eyes drove comforting memories to her mind—lying underneath orange sheets, his warm body sprawled beside her, him snoring; sharing cup ramen on missions; offering horrible food pills and him still eating the shit; joking and bickering at Ichiraku. </p><p>Now, she turns to Sasuke. His eyes are dark and lifeless, looking at her with question. Memories that cause her to buckle her knees and clutch at her reeling mind.</p><p>But she does none of that.</p><p>She pulls back a fist, tension coiling, twisted medical chakra coursing through the palm.</p><p>He sees it coming, and moves out of the way, but she anticipates this.</p><p>She slams one palm to the floor, and the earth rises at her call. It traps him within a boundary, and she stands alone with him.</p><p>She can sense the lack of chakra with her Sage Mode. She doesn't hold back, even then.</p><p> </p><p><em> One punch, </em> she promised herself, still calling energy to her hands. <em> One punch, as revenge for all he’s </em><em><span>done to me.</span></em></p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She takes a step forward, and swings.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The fist collides with his stomach, and she hears him wheeze. He flies, crashing through the mud walls, out and colliding with the perfectly chiseled lips of Hashirama Senju. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The stone cracks, and he sinks deeper into rubble. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Then, Sakura turns to Naruto. “You can take it from here.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>(94)</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She heals the two of them. Tears still spill out her eyes, but she doesn't care.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She takes his apology and hopes it heals all the torn parts of her.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Naruto smiles and cracks a joke, Kakashi sighs and pulls out a green book, Sasuke smirks passively, and Sakura laughs through tears.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>(95) </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Kakashi, Sakura and Tsunade get drunk. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sakura ends up drunk calling Naruto, who was at the hospital with Sasuke.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The bastard put it on speaker, and the two of them heard Sakura ramble on about the work she was doing on chakra cancer and some stuff about her washing machine? And how Pakkun and she went to the salon to get shampooed and groomed?—she doesn't even know.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Nevertheless, drinking games went on with Tsunade and Kakashi. This time, the hangover was not worth it, and she walks to office with a pounding headache, stomaching espressos in an attempt to stay awake and combat her hangover.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>(97)</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He pokes her forehead and her world feels complete. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll see you when I’m back,” he promises.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>(99)</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>And see her he </span>
  <em>
    <span>does</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Parts of her that he shouldn't.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She’s pressed against the wall of her kitchen, the cold of the wall making her shiver. The smell of coffee—long since cold—fills her nostrils. And the smell of firewood—Sasuke—overwhelms her. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>They are half dressed—her Anbu spandex torn open, and his cloak flung to the carpeted floor. His shirt is unbuttoned, cast away, landing on the kitchen island. Her mask is on the floor, his joining hers in a matter of seconds.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Frenzy of finger combing hair, grasping for clothes, clutching st skin, feeling, caressing.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He takes her peak in his mouth, his other hand at the nub between her legs.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She whimpers and writes, but she wants to take control. Slipping out of his grasp, she falls to her knees, green eyes flashing. He goes completely still when the zipper opens.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>(100)</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Sakura has Sarada cradled in her arms, a phone pressed between her ear and shoulder, hands working away on paperwork.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>That’s how it goes. Sasuke comes that evening—in more ways than one.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He knocks on her glass office door, she smiles absentmindedly and preoccupied, and she disposes the baby in his hands.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She wraps her work up, signing a few last documents, pacing around and shoving items in her bag, still talking on the phone with careful words.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, the surgery will last twenty six hours. The dose of anesthesia will be sufficient. Do not worry, I’ll check up daily and help in the pain therapy—no, no, it won't hurt as much. Yes, you will be asleep the whole time. Thank you, and don't worry one bit. Yes, take care. Good night. No, it won't fail, and no, you won't—just relax, okay? Yes, thank you. Goodnight.”</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She places the phone down, sighing, and finally gives Sasuke a smile with her undivided attention.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>She drops off something for her secretary, and then walks with Sasuke to their flat. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>(101)</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Naruto becomes Hokage the same day Sakura gets promoted to fully take over the hospital, which was the same day Sasuke became head of Anbu.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Three equal halves,” Naruto sighs, the day before, when they had all gotten drunk. Sasuke and Sakura are tugged over, into a warm hug. They don’t bother to correct his arithmetic inaccuracy, just nestling into the blond’s orange shirt.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Three equal halves,” Sakura agrees, planting a kiss on the Hokage’s whiskers, lacing her fingers through Sasuke’s, their wedding rings brushing against each other.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <br/>
    <br/>
    <br/>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>fact: comments give me dopamines</p></blockquote></div></div>
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